


Foiled

by jmsnyder (nsyncgrrl)



Category: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst, Bittersweet Ending, F/F, Femslash, Movie: Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-15 01:02:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29055570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nsyncgrrl/pseuds/jmsnyder
Summary: A very short little story about two of Padmé's handmaids.
Relationships: Rabé/Sabé (Star Wars)
Kudos: 2





	Foiled

Rabé lay awake in the darkness, the sounds of the other handmaidens’ quiet breathing loud in the stillness of the night. She heard the steady beat of her heart behind her closed eyes, felt the pounding in her constricted chest. Every sound was magnified as she waited; the soft linen shift she slept in rubbed her skin when she breathed. The thin covers kept the chill off but weighed her down, trapping her, keeping her in bed.

Across the room, someone shifted in her sleep, the bedcovers rustling noisily. Suddenly the latch lifted on the chamber door. Rabé opened her eyes and watched the dark shade enter the room, pausing to close the door softly. Faint steps shuffled towards her, and then she felt Sabé’s cool touch on her brow. Bending close, Sabé pressed her lips to Rabé’s cheek in greeting. Rabé scooted back against the wall beside her bed, allowing Sabé room to lay down. Quietly, Sabé removed her garnet robe, hanging it carefully on the back of a nearby chair, and pulled off the simple dress the handmaidens wore beneath their office garb. Her pale arms and white undershift glowed slightly in the dark room, and then she slid beneath the covers and pressed against Rabé’s warm body.

Even in the darkness Rabé saw the faint gleam of white face paint along the delicate curve of Sabé’s chin. Gently she rubbed the paint away and hugged her friend close. “I do not like this,” Rabé whispered into Sabé’s hair.

“Shh,” Sabé murmured sleepily. “She is our Queen. It is my duty to serve her.”

“I would give anything for Amidala,” Rabé said. “You know that. Anything ...”

Sabé opened one eye and studied Rabé, sensing her hesitation. “But?” she asked.

Rabé bit her lower lip to keep quiet, and eventually Sabé fell asleep. Rabé watched her, traced the curve of her jaw with one finger, and kissed her closed eyelids. _Anything but you_ , she thought before she, too, fell asleep.

* * *

“Well?” Sabé asked, looking at Rabé standing behind her in the mirror. Rabé’s hands clenched Sabé’s shoulders tightly -- she could feel the pressure of her grip through the velvet travelling cloak she wore. Rabé’s touch was comforting, but when she met her gaze in the mirror, Sabé could see the troubled expression lingering in her friend’s warm eyes. Sabé sighed. “What do you think?”

In the mirror, Rabé’s reflection smiled wanly. “You are beautiful,” she whispered. With the white makup covering her face and two red dots high on her cheeks, Sabé looked the part of Queen. Sadness filled Rabé’s heart. She understood the need for the deception, but that didn’t calm her fears. What if there _was_ an attempt on the Queen’s life? What should become of Sabé then? If she should die instead of the Queen, would Rabé be able to continue her role as Her Highness’ handmaiden? Without her friend, Rabé thought not.

Gathering her resolve, Rabé took a deep breath. She must remain strong, she thought, for Sabé’s sake. If she felt scared and helpless, she couldn’t imagine how Sabé felt, dressed in the Queen’s finery.

“Stand still,” Rabé admonished lightly. Sabé heeded, closing her eyes as Rabé applied red paint to Sabé’s lips. Her touch was cool against Sabé’s skin. Rabé colored Sabé’s upper lip and then drew the thick mark of remembrance to split her full lower lip. Leaning close to her, Rabé stroked Sabé’s cheek and smiled bravely. “My little Queen,” she whispered. Sabé returned her smile, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

“Rabé,” she whispered, but stopped when the door to the Queen’s dressing chamber slid open behind them.

Padmé entered the room, smiling. “Are you ready, Your Highness?” she asked, as Rabé and Sabé both looked up at their Queen, dressed as a simple handmaiden. Padmé boldly met Rabé’s harse gaze before turning to Sabé. “Well,” she breathed, “you certainly look the part.”

“If only I felt the part as well,” Sabé sighed.

Padmé smiled. “You’ll do fine,” she said. “We’ve trained for something like this since I became Queen.”

“But I never expected to go through with it,” Sabé countered.

“You’ll do fine,” Padmé repeated. Rabé bit the inside of her lip to keep from disagreeing with her Queen.

* * *

_Desperate times call for desperate measures_ , Rabé thought. She stood behind Sabé, dressed as the Queen, and beside Amidala, dressed as a handmaiden. Together the Queen and her handmaidens stood on a balcony overlooking the main plaza of Theed, Naboo’s capital city. Below, the people of Theed had begun to gather in small groups, and even at this height Rabé could sense fear running through the crowd. Since all communications to Naboo had been disrupted earlier that morning, the thought of impending invasion draped heavily on everyone’s mind. At any moment now, the Trade Federation’s droid army would advance to Theed and take its citizens hostage. With no army of their own, the Naboo had no hope of fighting back. The Queen stood strong in the face of the oncoming threat, as far as the people in the plaza could tell. Only Rabé saw the look of quiet desperation in Padmé’s eyes. There was nothing she could do for her people.

There was nothing _any_ of them could do.

Suddenly the balcony shuddered beneath their feet, and a distant rumble filled the air. From her height on the balcony, Rabé could see the large droid transports lumbering out of the forests surrounding the city. Battle droids astride STAPs buzzed around the MTT transports like hungry mosquitoes. As the army entered Theed, blasters fired, their shots echoing off the ancient stone buildings. The Naboo stood their ground, unable to fight yet unwilling to run as their Queen looked down upon them, firm in the face of adversity.

As the army approached the plaza, droids began to corral the townspeople into groups, marching the citizens of Theed off to prison camps. Few offered resistance in the face of the armored droids, blasters drawn. Rabé heard shouts below them as the battle droids entered the palace. Behind her the halls rang with metallic footsteps, seeking the Queen. She placed a hand on Sabé’s shoulder. “This is not safe,” she whispered.

Padmé shot her a withering glance which Rabé met boldly. “The Queen must stand her ground,” Padmé hissed.

“Easy for you to say,” Rabé muttered as battle droids stepped out onto the balcony.

“Halt!” the command droid said in a cold hard voice.

The handmaidens turned as one. Rabé felt Sabé’s hand press against the small of her back, warm through the thin fabric of her dress. The commander droid droned on. “Amidala, Queen of the Naboo, you are hereby detained in the name of the Trade Federation. Any resistance to the occupation of this planet —”

The droid raised its blaster, and Rabé moved in front of Sabé. Padmé stepped back, out of the line of fire. Behind the droids, Captain Panaka rushed out onto the balcony, followed by a few security volunteers. “Your Highness!” Panaka barked, his blaster firing. Two droids closest to Padmé fell, shot in the shoulder and neck.

Panaka reached Sabé’s side, his gaze staying on Padmé. Pushing Padmé through the remaining droids, he gripped Sabé’s elbow and led her from the balcony.

The remaining droids shuffled uneasily as they passed, heading for the stairs. As Rabé followed, the commander droid straightened itself, commanding, “Halt!”

Panaka kept moving, Padmé a few steps ahead, his body shielding her from the droids. Sabé tripped on the long robes of office, stumbling in Panaka’s grip. The droid aimed its blaster at Sabé.

“No!” Rabé pushed Panaka as the droid fired. Reflexively, Panaka fired his blaster, but the shot went wild, missing the battle droid to hit the wall. Rabé reached for Sabé, whose dark eyes widened as the commander droid leveled its blaster at the two of them and fired again.

Fire tore through Rabé’s body and she turned away from Sabé, shielding her friend. She heard Padmé call her name, heard the commander droid bark orders to the others, heard Panaka call for a physician. Looking down, she saw a gaping hole in the side of her gown, the orange fabric black from the blaster shot, a few drops of red blood that had escaped before the heat of the blast cauterized the wound. She stumbled back into Sabé, who caught her in strong arms and laid her gently on the cold marble floor. The other handmaidens crowded around her, blocking out the light, the walls, the droids. Rabé looked at Sabé and tried to smile despite the pain.

“Oh, Rabé!” Sabé sobbed. Tears ran from her eyes, coursing flesh-colored runnels through the white face paint she wore. The twin red dots on her cheeks ran like blood. Quickly Sabé pressed her lips against Rabé’s, leaving a faint mark of remembrance on Rabé’s lips. “Silly girl,” Sabé admonished. “Look what you’ve gone and done.”

Rabé smiled weakly. “My life for you,” she whispered. “For the Queen.”

Then darkness surrounded her, blocking out Sabé’s face, and the pain was gone.


End file.
